F1.8, Fast AF for a body driven lens, 75 mm on crop, ideal for portraits, light, cheap, well built for 100 bucks

Cons:

None

Simply an excellent lens.

Oct 21, 2006

Thomas RussOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 7, 2006Location: AustriaPosts: 14

Review Date: Sep 18, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $70.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

cheap, sharp, good portrait lens

Cons:

-

Very cheap, very sharp and very good performance at f4! Good portrait lens.

On of the best nikkor-lens I ever bought.

Sep 18, 2006

dj dunzieOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 14, 2006Location: CanadaPosts: 7044

Review Date: Sep 4, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $130.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Extremely sharp, good in low light, better built than I thought, unbeatable value.

Cons:

No true rear cap, no hood, no case.

I have no idea how the most affordable lens I've seen on the market produces such wonderful images. This lens is becoming the one I switch to for anytime I want to pull out the sharpest details mid-range. It is outstanding as a very-affordable "portrait" lens, and bang for the buck? HA! Nothing compares to this.

I have shot side-by-side now with the 18-70 and 18-200 VR at the 50mm range and this one CONSISTENTLY pulls out slightly better details at that range all the way from f4.5 to f22 in comparing the resulting images. I know it's not a truly fair comparison going up against zooms, but for a $130 lens, why not?

Despite some reports that it's not so finely crafted, I'd put this lens up against anything remotely close to it's price range for build quality, and CERTAINLY better than comparable Tamrons and Sigmas I've used. Autofocus is surprisingly quick and quiet too. OK, so it doesn't come with the soft nylon carrying case, a lens hood or a proper screw-on rear cap. And it seems to be slightly notchier mounting it than my other Nikkors. Those are nitpicks in the grand scheme.

I have nothing but compliments for this fantastic little bargain at this time, and a great new arsenal in my kit. And even after paying for it, I had to smile. Uncanny value for the money.

Sep 4, 2006

tanglefoot47OfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: Oct 12, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 14881

Review Date: Sep 1, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $120.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Fast, sharp, cheap

Cons:

What negative can one have for a $120 lens that shoots like a $500 or more lens

Man what a lens for the money there are non better. This lens is tack sharp, cheap and actually built pretty good.

Sep 1, 2006

firewireguyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 20, 2006Location: United KingdomPosts: 1436

Review Date: Aug 21, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Light, cheap, f/1.8, only 52mm filter size so filters are cheap, front element does not rotate when focusing so circular polarisers are usable

Cons:

Very small and light when used to the 18-70mm Nikon but easy to get used to. Loud AF, attaching to the camera is a bit stiff, poor rear cap

The built quality could be better but it's more than adequate for those that don't make a habit of dropping things. The AF is noisey when it hunts.

This is my first prime lens and I've only been out shooting with it once but I really like it.

The small DoF is something I'll have to get used to but I can see myself using it a lot as I tend to like small DoF. It's been razor sharp at the aperatures I've used it at so far (1.8 - 11). The Bokeh is awesome, very smooth.

I got mine brand new imported form HK for only £70, and I got an awesome lens. Couldn't be happier with it.

Aug 21, 2006

dyel337OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 12, 2006Location: United StatesPosts: 1327

Review Date: Jul 30, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $110.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Cheap, fast AF for non AF-S lens, sharp, good low light shooting

Cons:

Soft at f/1.8, place for filters are far away from the front element so it's easy to get things like distortions in your shots when using a filter.

It's a great lens, and a must for all photographers. It's kinda soft at 1.8, but gets sharper until about f/4. At that point it incredibly sharp. I often use f/2 because it is noticably sharper than f/1.8, but, for the price it's more than wonderful. I recommend to all, if not this, the 1.4 version.

Jul 30, 2006

crosstrainerOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 7, 2006Location: PhilippinesPosts: 0

Review Date: May 19, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $80.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

cheap, sharp, lightweight, tough, ease of use, quick focus

Cons:

too small, making it tough to handle - a mere niggle

a 75mm f/1.8 lens on a DX sensor, with excellent semi-macro focusing abilities, with a decent AF speed, lovely bokeh and up to f/22?

what more can you ask for?

I got mine very slightly used for about $80 a few days after I got my D50, and I never looked back.

I'm just an average shooter, but i've fallen in love with this versatile lens.

Get this lens now, and be amazed with how lovely your shots will be. Flash or no flash.

May 19, 2006

maciekOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 29, 2005Location: PolandPosts: 0

Review Date: Dec 29, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $140.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

great optics, low price, quality seems ok too

Cons:

could be wider on DSLR ;)

I love 50mm lens.
I use some for my manual mamiya equipment. Using both F1.4 and F1.7 tought me one lesson - F1.4 has better aperture, but is less sharp at F1.4 - 2.8. Therefore, even though i have brilliant mamiya 50mm F1.4 lenses, i still use F1.7 ones.
Knowing that, and having a very limited budget the choice for my d70s was easy - 50mm F1.8 AF-D instead of F1.4 version

I could buy a used Japaneese one, but decided to get a new one, just for the pleasure of having it brand new . The build quality is good enough for me, it is just as good as my 18-70DX lens, so what more may i need?

Of course it is far from my mamiya manual lens (CS and E bayonet) build quality, but nowadays everything seems to be cheaply made, so what can i do...

If Zeiss makes a better 50mm lens for nikon, i will buy it someday, but for now, this one is perfect.

optical quality is 10/10
build 8/10 - i have better ones at home, only they dont work with my d70s
price is 10/10 - its one of the cheapest, and the cheapest when comparing picture quality and price.

Dec 29, 2005

Jeremy HuaOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Oct 5, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 169

Review Date: Dec 25, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $94.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Small, lightweight, and it really showed me what sharp images looked like. I can definitely tell a difference between the 18-70 kit lens, and this lens.

Cons:

Made of plastic.

I have always read about people saying this lens is "tack sharp", but I never bothered to purchase one. With Christmas approaching, I asked my sister to get me one for the holiday, and she did. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long because it is definitely a lens everyone should have in their bag.

Dec 25, 2005

supertonicOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 3, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 3

Review Date: Dec 3, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Fast zoom, fast aperture, and the PRICE!

Cons:

For the price, you can't bitch.

Yeah, it's plastic, and it's not the most solid lens ever built, but for a measely 100 dollars you get an awesome low-light and portraiture lens. The zoom is really fast, and the noise isn't a big deal at all. This is a perfect beginner lens, and for the price, you can't go wrong. Unless you really need f/1.4, if you're in the market for a nice 50mm lens, buy this.

Dec 3, 2005

azenisOfflineImage Upload: On

Registered: Aug 4, 2005Location: CanadaPosts: 656

Review Date: Nov 14, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $80.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp. Dirt Cheap. f/1.8!

Cons:

None for its price. Maybe a more quiet focusing would be nice

The one I got is the old batch MIJ (New ones I believe are made somewhere else). The lens is RAZOR SHARP beyond f4. But even @ F1.8 it's an amazing lens.

An excellent portrait lens after the crop factor (75mm in 35mm) and it bokeh very soft. Very smooth to my eyes.

A must have bargain lens for any Nikon shooter.

Nov 14, 2005

jmfitchOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 24, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Jun 24, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Speed; sharpness.

Cons:

Not a zoom!

This is the must-have prime for anyone even thinking of being a serious photographer. It's cheap, fast, and razor-sharp. Buy one. Now.

Jun 24, 2005

fxcreatographyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 5, 2005Location: GermanyPosts: 0

Review Date: Mar 5, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

sharp, cheap, small, lightweight, classic handling

Cons:

noisy AF

I bought this lens in a time i didnt have that much money available for photography due to the fact that i just got myself my D70.

First i thought this would be only a temporary lens for me but now i use it even more then my bundle 18-70 which just doesnt provide the f-stops i want.

Let's cut the foreplay, this lens is among 1 or 2 others the best thing you can get for the money: the sharpness at f/2.8 is adorable, color response is great to, no visible vignetting with a DSLR with x1.5 crop.

Of course it's not as versatile as a zoom but considering the great pictures i have this babe mounted more often then my 18-70 DX zoom...

The only thing that can be annoying is the AF which is really kinda loud and if you use it at theatre or concert ( and its not a rock thing but classical =) it may force you to go back to the good old days and use the excellent MF ring =) Ah, another thing which could maybe counted as not that superbe.. you cant de-attach the focus ring like you can e.g. with the sigma primes.. that means you cant really hold the cam with one hand on the (already small) lens without getting your fingers brushed :-P

But these are all tiny little dirt spots on an overall superbe, "its-damn-worth-the-money", lens.

Go and get yours!!

Mar 5, 2005

rafadavidcOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 2, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 800

Review Date: Mar 3, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8

Pros:

sharp, fast, small, light, good color, contrast

Cons:

cheap plastic build, slow-ish focus

can't beat it for the price. great glass, very lightweight.

feels cheap (because it is). focus could be faster for such a short travel, but this thing was introduced with the am200, so i doubt nikon knew how to make it fast.

--RC

Mar 3, 2005

skhanOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 19, 2005Location: CanadaPosts: 1

Review Date: Feb 19, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Absolutely beautiful lens. Sharp, sharper than the 1.4 version, one of Nikon's sharpest!

Cons:

Poor built quality

Feb 19, 2005

foxXxOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 28, 2004Location: CanadaPosts: 203

Review Date: Jan 20, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $150.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp, Nice Colour, Built Nicely, Fairly Fast.

Cons:

Could be a bit faster, but still good.

Really solid lens, I was quite happy with it when I purchased it with my D70. I don't believe with the 1.5 crop that this lens is awkward. Its really nice for portrait shots at 75mm, and I have used it alot of BMX and Snowboarding shots, Im really happy with this lens, I think its a must have.